


How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Canon and Just Read Fan Fiction

by QuantumSilence



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Endgame bummed me out, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fix-It, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I don't know what I'm doing, I thought I was ready for this, I'm Bad At Tagging, I've seen Endgame like three and a half times, Not Beta Read, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, blatant disregard of canon, blatant self indulgence, but like treated seriously, i'm not crying you're crying, so i wrote my own ending, someone help me i'm drowning, sorry everyone, this is how i'm pretending it ended, this is maybe kinda cracky, we die like mne
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-01 07:19:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18795595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuantumSilence/pseuds/QuantumSilence
Summary: Pretty much what it says on the tags.Endgame fix-it fic where everyone is soft.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been roughly an hour since their glorious triumphant over Thanos. An hour since Tony wielded the iron gauntlet and made the ultimate sacrifice. An hour since they took Tony's body away. And for roughly one hour a bloody and beaten Steve Rogers stood near the spot of his friend's demise and argued with a wizard on if and how they could use the stones to bring Tony back.

While Steve grappled with a dangerous mix of head trauma, grief, and shock, Sam stepped up and filled in the gaps where Steve's leadership was currently focused elsewhere. He organized a search and rescue squad, making sure those who were injured got the help they needed. He ushered Pepper, Rhodey, and Peter away from the volatile argument to somewhere they could grieve in peace. He discretely made sure Tony's body was taken off the battlefield. At the moment he was doing the job Captain America was supposed to be doing while Steve spiraled in the face of loss.

Steve was peripherally aware he was letting his trauma cloud the welfare of those around him but he found he couldn't bring himself to care. Somewhere beside him Bucky insisted he needed medical care, but at this point the pain was the only thing grounding him— the only thing keeping him from collapsing into tears.

Bruce offered to use the gauntlet again, use his other hand to bring back Tony, but he was weakened in the fight and Dr. Strange thought he might not survive.

Carol said she would do it. With a snap of fingers she would reverse any devastation that Thanos had wrought, but Strange shot that down too. They knew nothing about her powers. She too could fall victim to the gauntlet.

Thor insisted he could do it. Nebula seemed confident she would survive. Rhodey, after returning from making sure Pepper was comfortable, was willing to trade his life for Tony's— an option everyone was vocally against. Shuri wanted to take the gauntlet to her lab, positive this problem could be solved by science.

Strange cautioned against prolonged contact with the gauntlet, with all the stones it could corrupt the individual.

They then argued using just one stone— the soul stone, the time stone, the reality stone— but Dr. Strange balked at every attempt.

He was afraid any movement would only bring more death, could possibly bring back Thanos or in anyway undo what they had just fought and died for.

He had a problem with everything they suggested to bring Tony back. Steve was about ready to deck him. Who died and made him an expert on infinity stones.

"The Ancient One." Dr. Strange answered, lips pursed in something that might be called amusement.

And, oh. He said that out loud. Maybe he should have listened to whoever said he needed a medic.

"Yes, Steve, you have the self preservation skills of a walnut, you should always listen to me." Bucky said, hovering at his elbow, somehow sounding fond and exasperated at the same time.

Steve sighed, easing down on a large chunk of rubble. Infinity stones— _magic_ — was not his forte. Sometime long before Roosevelt signed America up for another globally sponsored war, Steve and Bucky had scraped up enough money to go watch a man saw a woman in half in the old Brooklyn Theater. He couldn't even figure out how they pulled that one off, let alone trying to outsmart a magically bejeweled glove. There was a roaring sound in his head, making it difficult to even think.

If only Tony was here—he was the only man smart enough to come up with a plan to fix this.

Steve's head snapped up at the thought, eyes wide. He bolted to his feet, then as the world began to sway, promptly sat right back down. Bucky was knelt next to him in an instant.

"Steve—" Bucky warned, but the captain barreled on, paying his friend no mind.

"Strange, can you—" he made a waving motion with his hand. "—Restore the compound? And everything that was inside it?"

The doctor looked at him for a long searching moment, and then with just the hint of a smile he responded. "That I can do." Gently plucking the time stone out of the iron gauntlet and placing it back into the Eye of Agamotto, he began to wave his hands in some meaningful way.

Suddenly the area was alive with movement once more, pieces of the compound flew back together knitting and reconstructing the place they once called home. Within the span of ten seconds where before there stood devastation and destruction now stood a near perfect Avenger compound every rock and blade of grass back in its original place.

Someone let out a breathy laugh and Steve was surprised to realize it was him.

He gingerly stepped forward, satisfied when he didn't immediately fall down.

"Bruce come with me. Bucky—"

"I'm on your six, Steve."

That was how he found himself suiting up for one more jaunt through time.

That's how he found himself one day in the past. After the collection of the stones it took three days for the combined efforts of Tony, Bruce, Rocket, and Nebula to make the iron gauntlet.

He found Tony where he knew he would be alone. Three-thirty in the morning chugging coffee in the kitchen because Rocket had managed to destroy the coffee maker in the lab, dismantling it "for parts". In a few hours they'd all be woken up as Thor screams at Rocket for doing the same thing to the microwave.

He stood there for a moment watching Tony, one of the man's favorite rock songs playing faintly in the distance. The man hadn't been dead long, his body barely cold, but Steve had already missed him. He stood, almost reverent, as Tony chugs an entire mug of coffee in one gulp, only to immediately refill his glass.

"You know, I'm hesitant to throw around terms like "stalker" and "creepy", but you standing there in the shadows, staring—" he came to an abrupt stop as he turned and actually looked at Steve.

"What the— what the hell happened to you?" Tony asked, taking quick strides toward the first Avenger.

Despite Bucky's adamant protests that Steve should see a doctor first, that he should clean up, Steve hadn't really considered how shocking he might look coming immediately from the future. His face was covered in grime from the battle. The ashy remains of their enemies clinging to his suit, his skin, his hair, cloying at his throat. He still had the metallic taste of blood in his mouth and he was acutely aware of the large gash in his side. But none of that mattered right now. He would live. His body would mend. The important thing was bringing Tony back and setting right what once went wrong.

"Are you quoting Quantum Leap right now?" Tony asked, eyebrows knitted in confusion, hands hovering over Steve as if he's not sure where to touch.

Steve didn't know what that was. Steve really needed to stop broadcasting his every thought. He also probably shouldn't have yelled at Dr. Strange so much, because he was starting to think he really needed a doctor.

Tony's whole radiated concern. "I can get you a doctor, Steve." Then significantly louder called out, "Bruce—"

"No, Tony, wait, that's not important right now. I need you to come with me. I'm from the future."

Tony's eyes went wide. "You're from the future?" he eyed the evidence of a hard fought battle on Steve's face. "How far in the future?"

Steve's eyes slid over to the clock on the wall. "About twenty-seven hours."

"Twenty-seven— Why? What happens?" His voice taking on a steely edge.

Steve sighs, suddenly wishing he had taken Bucky's suggestion of clubbing him over the head and dragging him forward in time. Maybe it was the blood loss talking, but Steve's patience on this issue had worn wire thin. The blood loss also really wanted him to sit down.

Taking a nearby seat, he runs a ragged hand through his hair, indifferent when he pulls his hand back to find blood on it. "Tony, in a little over a day, everything we worked so hard for— everything we sacrificed for— comes to fruition. We do it, Tony. They come back. _We_ bring them back— and- and I got to see Bucky again." He looks up at Tony, eyes shiny with unshed tears. "I got to hug him again."

There was a time the name of the man who killed his parents made his heart clench painfully, and for the first time in years it does again, but this time only in sympathy for Steve Rogers. Tony feels the familiar sting at his own eyes, and swallows hard. There are numerous, numerous follow up questions he wants to ask but at this moment, rapidly nearing four in the morning, the only light in the room streaming in from down the hall, talking to a beaten and near blubbering future tense Captain America, one question prevailed over the others.

"Why aren't you with him right now?"

A few tears rolled down Steve's face, leaving a visible track in their wake. "I'm here to get you, Tony."

Tony looks at him for a long moment before the meaning behind the other man's words hit him. He knows what's being implied here. He can feel the panic start to bubble under his skin. His face falls and immediately he grabs for something to busy his hands with, a few parts from the now broken coffee machine laid out on an end table.

"What if things happen for a reason? Maybe this is just the end of my story." He says while trying to force the pieces to click back together.

"Tony, we couldn't have done any of the things we accomplish in the next twenty-four hours without you. At least half the existence of this universe owes their lives to you."

Tony nods, but doesn't meet the captain's eyes.

"You deserve to see this through to the end. You deserve your happy ending."

Tony threw the broken parts down on the coffee table with a clang. "So, I kick the bucket, huh? I had one stipulation to this whole 'time heist' bullshit, Captain: To not die trying. One thing, was that really so much to ask for?"

He looks at Steve's face, like a literal kicked puppy, and suddenly all the anger seeps out of him in a rush. He knew what he was signing up for. It wasn't anybody's fault but his own. He never could just leave well enough alone.

"Tony, you dy— " he stops; he can't bring himself to say that word right now. Not after facing so much tragedy, not with Tony sitting in front of him alive and well. "We can fix this." He holds out his hand, with two quantum wrist devices on it.

Tony's eyes track from Cap's hand up to his face, where Steve is giving him a pained smile. "I won't leave here without you, Tony."

Tony huffs out a tired laugh. "Stuck in a world with two Capsicles? Haven't I been punished enough?"

" _Please_ , Tony. Pepper, Peter, Rhodey—  they're all waiting for you on the other side."

Tony's eyes flashed, and he hopped out of his chair. " _Peter_?!" he almost yells the name. "Take me to him." He holds out his hand for the quantum device.

Steve gives him a tight grin. "Geez, I guess I should have started with that."

He misses the way Tony rolls his eyes at him as they disappear into the quantum realm.

The reentry on the quantum time machine was always a bitch, something made even worse by Steve's injuries. He—  after shooting a cocky winning grin to Bucky—  immediately collapsed to all fours, clutching at the wound on his side made by Thanos.

Both Bucky and Tony were at his side in an instant.

Tony's hands stilled, gaping at the assassin.

Bucky braced himself for what would come next, either verbally or physically getting his ass handed to him.

But Tony just laughed, loud and care free, slapping a hand on his shoulder. "It's true. You're back!" seeming genuinely happy about this.

Bucky managed a small hesitant smile in return. Clearly a lot of things had changed since he turned to dust in an empty field in Wakanda. At the moment however he had more pressing issues to worry about.

He wants to say more. He wants to apologize—  for everything—  but all he says is: "I'm taking him to medbay. We will see you later, Tony." He grabs under Steve's arms and knees and lifts him up, effectively carrying him bridal style.

"I can walk, Bucky." A weak, obligatory protest at best

"Oh, yeah? You can show me later." Bucky responds gruffly, pulling the man in a little tighter.

Tony watches them leave, with a breathy chuckle. On the side Bruce is hastily shutting down the machine. "I'm so happy to see you, man! Give me a hug!" he says running over to him.

Tony opens his arms wide, gasping as Bruce's arms fold around him, effectively squeezing out all his air. "Easy—  easy—  need to—  breathe." He chokes out.

Bruce immediately lets him go. "Sorry, man. I'm just so happy to see you. I wasn't sure if that would ever happen again."

"Yeah, I get you. Hey, how about you take me to Pepper and Peter and maybe fill me in on the way there?"

They're actually in Wakanda at the moment, so it takes a minute to get there. Luckily one of Strange's fellow wizards is still at the compound opening a portal for the various injured parties and any surviving members of the battle seeking refuge in Wakanda.

The Avenger's compound, though fully restored, had been a practically unmanned station in the years since the snap. And while it had a fully operational medical unit, there was no one running it, with barely any Avenger needing it in the past five years. Which led most of the heroes going to Wakanda, who's policies on being enhanced, mutated, internationally wanted assassins, or run of the mill alien life forms were severely more understanding than they were in New York.

Bruce lets him know what happened; he used the finished iron gauntlet to undo the snap. A past version of Thanos, Nebula, and Gamora arrived in their time to stop them. He was almost successful.

It's a somber moment when they reach T'challa's kingly estate. Tony's body— which wigged him out to even think about— was currently secreted away, being prepared for cremation.

A royal guard eyed Tony with confusion but never the less led them to where his wife was.

Tony, always one for a grand entrance, flung the door open. Inside, Pepper who was on the phone with Happy, tearfully trying to keep it together. At the sight of her recently deceased husband standing before her, her eyes went wide and phone sliding away from her ear.

"Tony?" She's hesitant. Like it could all be an illusion. A fevered dream. Like something that could snatched away from her in a second.

Tony wants to joke, to be the cool guy and say, "Did you miss me?" or "One last miracle." but all of that bravado falls away when he looks into Pepper's eyes and sees the hurt his death had caused her.

"I'm sorry." He says instead, the words barely leaving his mouth, before Pepper's in his arms, kissing him.

She leans her forehead against his, and they stay like that for a long moment. When she pulls back, he can see the tears threatening to fall. "How, Tony?"

"Simple answer? Time travel. I guess—" he wiggled his head back and forth as if weighing the options. Universe restored, leaps and strides in the science community, Avengers reassembled, "— I guess it’s a good thing I didn't drop it in the ocean this time."

She laughs, light and bubbly. "I guess so, Tony." She slaps his arm, attempting to make a serious face. "Never do that again."

He holds a hand out, as if he's swearing in. "Never again, Ms. Potts."

"So, where is everybody? Rhodey, Nebula—" he wants to say Peter but he's afraid it might make it unreal somehow, afraid to know what might have happened.

"Sam insisted Rhodey get checked out by a doctor, he should still be with the healers." At the flash of concern on Tony's face, Pepper was quick to assure, "He's fine, a little banged up" she laughs. "We all are."

"I'm not sure about Nebula; I think she's with her sister. Peter was here earlier, he left so I could make a phone call—" her eyes widened. "Oh no, I've got to call Happy back!" she winced at him, hurriedly mashing buttons on her phone. "I might have told him you died, and then hung up on him."

"Okay, I'm gonna go find- find—" he pointed behind him towards the door.

Pepper smiled at him, "Go find Peter, Dear. He definitely needs to see you." She looked away as Happy answered her call. He could hear the other man crying through the phone. "Happy, calm down—"

He exited at that, shutting the door behind him. Somehow Pepper always knew what he was thinking.

He tapped his glasses, "Friday?"

"Yes, Boss?" came the automated response.

Internally he cheered. He didn't know why he thought the network might not recognize him when he was literally the same Tony just one day younger, but this was at least one time he was glad to be proven wrong.

"Do you have a location on Peter Parker?"

There was a half second pause from his AI that nearly killed him, but his heart started beating again at the response of, "Yes." A map popped up in front him showing the teen's location, and Tony marched toward it. "And might I add— it's good to have you back, boss."

He grinned. "It's good to be back Friday."

He followed the twisting path leading him deeper and deeper into the palace, where surely neither he nor Peter had access to, but he forged ahead.

He entered a long deserted hallway, only to stop abruptly at the sight before him.

Peter Parker sat not ten feet in front of him. He was leaned against a wall, sitting beneath a window with his knees pulled up to his chest. His mask sat abandoned on the ground, and he held his head in his hands, obviously crying. Tony could see a few telltale signs of blood crusted into his hairline.

The thought of his suit hiding more injuries spurred him from where he stood bolted to the floor.

"Pete, Pete, Peter." He crouched down next to the young boy, with no response. He realized with the familiar symptoms of crying, shaking, and Peter's apparent trouble to breath, the kid was having a panic attack.

Quickly, Tony set to work, he put what he hoped would be a comforting arm around the boy. "Peter, it's okay, you're having a panic attack. Just breathe with me. In— and out— And in—"

They sat like that for several minutes before Peter's breathing started to even out, but it was clear the boy was still suffering from some kind of shock, as he stared blankly into space.

"Petey, listen to me. Whatever's wrong, I'll take care of it. We'll deal with that together, okay? Me and you, Pete— me and you." And oh, how glad he was to be able to say those words. To be able to talk to Peter— to hold him in his arms again— was something he didn't think he would ever get to experience again. He spent a long time keeping the kid at arms length and unfortunately— something that was a hard truth for too many people after the snap— he realized just too late how much this kid really meant to him.

And now that he had a second chance he was going to do right by him. There was nothing he wouldn't do for this kid. _His_ kid.

Slowly, Peter's eyes slid over to the man currently wrapped around him, rubbing soothing circles into his back. He stared at him for a moment, like his brain couldn't understand what he was looking at. As it dawned on him, his eyes grew comically wide, his mouth dropped open, and he scrambled away from the older man, pressing himself against the opposite side of the corridor.

Struggling to bring in air, Peter stared at his recently deceased mentor, who looked back at him with something resembling shock on his face. His eyes started to dart around the room, and Tony could tell he was moments away from another panic attack.

He took a step toward the teen who promptly shoved himself impossibly further into the wall letting out a painful yelp as his head made as it made a resounding thump.

"Hey, Pete- Pete, it's alright. It's going to be okay." He held his arm out in calming motion, but stayed where he was at.

"You're- you're d-dead." He stuttered out.

"That was just a misunderstanding, I'm all better now." He said aiming for brevity and failing as Peter barely blinked at him.

"You're dead. Mr. Stark is dead." Fat tears started to fall. "And I'm going crazy."

Tony took a half step forward, inching toward him. "I was. I'll give you that. I was ah, as they say, dead. But I'm okay now. I'm alive. You want to know how?"

Peter's breaths started coming in shorter and shorter. "Hey look at me, concentrate on me, see how I breathe?" he made a point of taking several deep breaths. "You want to know how I survived? How we brought all of you back? Time travel."

That managed to pull a slight inquisitive reaction out of the hyperventilating teen, which Tony took as a positive sign to continue.

"When we were on that planet, when we were fighting Thanos, he won, kid. He snapped out half of all life in this universe. You—" he can't bring himself to describe the moment of Peter's dusting. "—Were one of the fallen. Five years go by, five _long_ years. Then Scott— that's the guy that got real small and then real big in Germany— suggested using the quantum realm as a means of time travel and I— well— I laughed in their faces. But then I thought about it. And I just couldn't imagine—" he was mere inches from Peter now. "I just couldn't imagine living with myself if I wasn't doing anything and everything to bring you back here with me."

He touched Peter's arm, without getting a volatile reaction. The teen was entirely focused on his mentor's words. "So, I built a time machine. No biggie, just shattering scientific breakthroughs. And because of that we're both here today. And I told myself if I ever got another chance with you— I wouldn't hold back, Pete." He grabbed Peter's hand and squeezed.

A few tears of his own fell. "I missed you so much, Kid. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, I—"

Peter launched himself at Tony, the older man's arms wrapping around him in a crushing embrace.

"I love you, Peter." He whispered into the boy's ear, Peter hugging him harder. After a few minutes Tony reluctantly pulled back.

"What say we get you looked over by a doctor— don't think I can't tell you're hurt. Then some food? I don't know what they serve in Wakanda, but we can always hop back to the Avenger's compound for pizza."

Peter wiped at his eyes. "I'd like that."

They end up on the bed next to Captain America. Bucky gives the kid a nod in greeting, which he returns with a small smile.

Tony files that away for later, not wanting to bog Peter's doctor visit down with a bunch of unrelated questions.

"You guys know Pete, right? Bucky, Steve, this is Peter Parker. Petey: Steve and Bucky."

"Oh my gosh. Captain America and the Winter Soldier, this is so cool. Hi. Hi." He chirps out, with a little wave. Immediately, his cheeks turned red and his jaw snapped closed in an attempt to not embarrass himself further.

Tony wants to laugh, but settles for putting a comforting arm around the kid's shoulders.

There's a somewhat awkward silence that follows, one that Tony feels compelled to break. "We're having an impromptu pizza party later, you guys coming?"

There was a tense pause, and Tony almost started back peddling before the Captain spoke, "Are you going to let me go, Buck?"

"I don't know, Steve. Are you going to take it easy? Are you going to try and take on an entire army by yourself on the way there?" Bucky snapped, looking frustrated.

Steve— who once upon a time would have the good sense to at least feign guilt— only laughed. He was riding an impossible high, one born out of victory and seeing Bucky, seeing a lot of people he thought he wouldn't ever see again. And more likely then not an actual medically induced high. The man was pretty banged up when he came and liberated Tony from the not too distant past, he was probably sitting pretty on some of the good stuff.

Bucky rolled his eyes, a slight smile playing at his lips. "If the doctor clears him, we'll be there."

At that moment one of the doctors entered the room, and with a small greeting to the old timers slid a paper thin curtain between them.

An hour or so later their would be "pizza party" was not living up to its name. Wakanda, while offering many delicious foods, did not serve American pizza. However the chefs at the palace were more than eager to attempt to please their guests. What they ended up with was what would closer resemble some kind of hipster pizza. Goat cheese, unusual all natural toppings, non-bleached flour, all the trimmings that would jack up your bill back in the states.

It also failed to deliver on the "party" part as well. A few well placed text messages got any interested Avenger holed up in the common area of the suit T'challa offered to Pepper, but everyone was bone tired so there wasn't much in the way of festivities or celebration. Wakanda had offered everyone a change out of their battle clothes, so he guessed you could successfully add the word pajama to the title of their soirée. Tony made a mental note to throw a bigger party in a couple of days after things had settled down to make up for it.

It was more a quiet event, everyone huddled around the television watching the news. Rhodey sat in a nearby arm chair, barely holding his head up, Sam sat at his feet chomping on pizza. Hulk, who in the absence of any reinforced chairs sat on the floor cradling his arm wrapped tight in a sling. Bucky sat on the floor, leaning up against the couch mindlessly eating on a piece of pizza, a passed out Steve Roger's head in his lap. Pepper and Wanda chatted quietly to themselves in the back of the room. Thor was also passed out on the floor, snoring loudly, still clutching a can of beer.

Peter after he finished eating— what Tony privately thought was not enough for a healing spiderling— sat curled up against his side. Tony's finger carded gently through the boy's hair. It took him a long time to calm the boy down, after they had all learned that suddenly dropping some three billion people back on planet earth— some literally into the middle of the streets— was causing quite the shit show. Peter was of course worried about his aunt who disappeared in the snap, only to be dropped unceremoniously somewhere back in 2023 Queens. They tried contacting her on her cell phone, but a lot of the networks were jammed up, being flooded with calls. Also neither Parker had paid their phone bill in about oh, say five years, so he was pretty sure they wouldn't be able to make contact that way anyhow.

Peter, though benched because of his injuries (A concussion, three broken ribs, various cuts and bruises, Tony had a doctor's note and everything) wanted to portal back to New York and find her. It took a considerable amount of loudly expressing his concerns to get Peter to sit down before he collapsed.

Tony deployed four suits to search to find May Parker and when they did, they would take her to his home where Happy and Morgan were currently safe and sound. Hopefully, Happy would take the time to explain any prevailing questions May might have, and when things had calmed down enough that it was safe to travel the streets again, they would all be reunited.

"Pete, you want some more pizza?" Tony asked, very unsubtly trying to get him to eat more.

"Pete…?" he trailed off as he looked down to find the young teen asleep. He chuffed out a laugh. Placing a kiss on the sleeping teen's head, he turned back to the television.

Steve had told him he deserved a happy ending, and if Tony was any judge, he would say with the utmost confidence this was it, this was his happy ending.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, thanks for reading, hope you liked it. Also if I could pick the soundtrack for this it would include this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0BUsDf0dxY you don't gotta listen I just love this song. Anyway, goodnight everybody!


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, all you have to do is drop off each infinity stone, at each point in time we took them from." Bruce says, flipping various switches.

Steve grins. "Piece of cake." He knows it'll be harder than his cavalier attitude implies, but after undoing the snap, bringing back all those who were taken, defeating Thanos, in comparison everything else felt like a leisurely stroll through a field of lilies.

He picks up the suitcase filled with the infinity stones and Mjolnir and turns to Bucky. "Don't do anything stupid until I get back, okay?"

Bucky gives him a small smile but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "How can I? You're taking it all with you." He replies a little woodenly.

Steve's eyebrows knit together. He can tell there's something bothering his friend, but he has no clue what. "Buck, what—"

Bucky's tired. And he's old. And he feels every bit of his age. Somewhere in Wakanda there is a simple hut, a few goats, and the closest he's gotten to peace in a long time. He aches for it. "You are coming back, right Stevie? No… unexpected stops?"

He wants Steve to be happy, to have his happily ever after. If that meant he had to live without him, he'd let him, he understood. But he wants to know. No lies, no pretenses. He wants to know if this is goodbye.

Steve huffs a laugh, stopping abruptly at Bucky's pained look as he realizes exactly what Bucky is asking him. He thinks Steve is going back to his own time, back to the forties, back to Peggy. He thinks Steve is leaving him there alone.

Which was crazy. It was insane. And he'd be a damned liar if he said he'd never considered it. Waking up in a different century was— well— a culture shock to say the least. In the first few weeks he considered himself only a tourist, surely with all their future technology there would be a way to return him to his own time period. He wished and he hoped and he prayed for a way to go back home, but he was stuck. There was no way back. As the years went by, he resigned himself to his fate, but he never let go of that dream. When the world was too harsh, when his resolve weakened, when he felt sorry for himself he imagined going back, letting the idea of going back home— to Peggy, to Bucky, and to the life he was meant to have— warm him like a comfortable old blanket. In the years after they had brought him out of the ice, he navigated this foreign world alone— as a relic, a footnote in history, a glorified exhibit in a museum— and the thought of returning to the life he left behind haunted him.

Then he got Bucky back. Suddenly, Steve wasn't alone anymore. Suddenly, the idea of going back to a time he knew wouldn't have Bucky in it diminished in its appeal. The permanent ache in his chest transformed into a mere phantom pain.

But then just as suddenly, in the blink of any eye— the snap of a finger— he lost everything.

For five years he walked through the streets of a decimated earth like a zombie. Hollowed out on the inside, dutifully playing the part of Captain America until even Steve Rogers felt like a mask. He told people to move on, to grow, to let go while he clung to his old life like a life preserver. It was the only thing keeping his head above water in this new reality.

Then they had a one in fourteen million chance. They could undo the snap, undo the actions of a madman, and bring back countless lives. Steve didn't dare let himself hope.

As their journey took them back in time, twisting itself with their own pasts, he found himself face to face with everything he always dreamed off. Peggy Carter stood less than ten feet away, their reunion hindered only by a thin piece of glass and the last remaining shreds of his dedication to a mission certainly doomed to fail. In that moment— heartbroken, devastated, and weak— he imagined himself returning to his own time, walking up the concrete steps to a little white house, a slow dance to an old sweet song. It would be followed by a kiss, a wedding, a happily ever after.

As he stood there in shock, after all those years his dream finally within his grasp, it dawned on him that it was only that: a dream. Peggy had an entire life without him. She married and had children and he wanted to take that away from her because he thought he deserved to be with her more than the man she actually chose.

As much as he hated to admit it he wasn't the same man that crashed into the ice all those years ago. He had been changed by time, twisted by tragedy. Even if there was some way to return him to his own time period, he wouldn't be able to return as the same bright eyed naïve kid who didn't know what it was like to lose everything. There was no way to truly reclaim the life he had lost.

He realized in that moment he had been idealizing a fledgling relationship with Peggy as a way to cope. In his mind, he glorified their short relationship into maybe something it wasn't. He proclaimed her as the love of his life— and maybe she was— but maybe he wasn't hers. He had no right to take away the life she carved out for herself. He needed to get a life, not steal somebody else's. He would always love her— always— but sometimes love meant walking away and letting go.

It was time to move on. You have to play the hand you're dealt. He knew he was no longer alone. He had a family in the Avengers, he still had Bucky, and he had a world— a future— that needed him. He turned away from her and for the first time in a long time, he set down the weight of the expectations he had for his own life and breathed a little easier.

  
Steve let the mystical items drop, Mjolnir hitting the ground with a resounding clunk. He put a hand on Bucky's shoulder, the other man's eyes snapping to his own. "You know, Peggy once said to me ' _The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best and sometimes the best that we can do is to start over._ ' And that is to say— I'm glad I have you, Bucky, to start over with." He pulled him in for a bone crushing hug. "It's me and you, 'til the end of the line."

It took a second for Steve's words to sink in, for Bucky to return his hug with equal veracity. After a long moment he pulled back to stare into watery eyes and the first real smile to grace Bucky's features since his return from the snap.

Steve's face mirrored Bucky's. He picked up Thor's old hammer and the suitcase once more. It pained him to leave Bucky, but this had to be done. "Now if you'll just hold that thought, I'll be right back."

He took his place on the quantum platform and with a crackle of energy he disappeared.

A loud sniff filled the air, prompting Sam and Bucky's attention to slide to its source.

"Are you crying?" Sam asked disbelief staining his voice.

"No. Yes. I can't help being in touch with my feelings! What are you dead inside? That was a beautiful moment, man!" Bruce cried out wiping at his eyes.

Sam rolled his eyes half heartedly, but the scene had given a warm and fuzzy feeling too.

"How long will it take?" Bucky asked, subtly changing the subject away from his own unspilled tears.

Bruce regaining some decorum answered, "However long he needs, it'll just be seconds to us though."

"Do you think he'll be alright? To hear Scott tell it this—" here he used air quotes. "—'Time heist' was a little touch and go in the beginning."

Bruce shrugged. "Yeah, sure, it shouldn't be any problem. He just has to return the time stone to the Ancient One, drop the power stone off on Morag—" he listed them off on his fingers.

"Turn the reality stone back into a liquid and inject it into Thor's ex-girlfriend?" Sam asked.

Bruce's eyes go wide, "Uuuhm—"

"Yeah and how's he going to turn the space stone back into the tesseract?" Bucky queried, eyebrows knit in confusion.

Bruce absently bit at his bottom lip. "I think—"

"And the soul stone, didn't Clint say it was guarded by his old buddy the Red Skull? How do you think that reunion's going to go?"

"What?!" Bucky cried out. "Give me a suit, I'm going after him." He started taking off his jacket.

Bruce is frantically moving at the computer, flipping switches and trying not to mash the buttons with Hulk-like strength in his panic. "Shit, just wait a second, let me—"

With a now familiar hum, the hair on their arms stood up and with a flash, Steve reappeared one knee on the platform, head bowed, a shiny new shield with a long gash on the front strapped to his arm.

Suddenly his head snapped up, sporting a few gashes of his own, and the beginnings of a beard.

"Hey, buddy." Bruce called out tentatively. "How did it go?"

Steve stood up with a small wince, Bucky taking a step forward at the sight. "Well, not as easy as we originally thought. Did you know I had to inject the power stone back into Jane Foster?" He hopped down from the platform.

"What?" Bruce asked in exaggerated innocence. "This is— this is definitely the first I'm hearing of it. Did you— guys?" he looked over at the other two.

With eyes wide they both silently shook their heads.

Behind Steve the platform whizzed to life again, this time the flash was replaced by three familiar faces: Natasha, Vision, and Loki.

"Luckily, I had a little help from some friends." Steve continued, a shit eating grin on his face. "And Loki." He added as an after thought, causing the raven haired man to frown.

Bruce and Sam's mouths dropped open. Bucky just smirked and rolled his eyes, Steve was still a showman after all these years.

Sam grinned as he watched Bruce almost knock some of the equipment over in his haste to hug Natasha. She laughed, sounding more carefree than he could ever remember.

"You brought Loki back too?" he asked. Natasha, Vision, they deserved to be here just as much as any of them. Loki, however, was not an ally in his mind. He was someone Sam thought was better dead, than ever getting the chance to attack New York again (not that he would ever voice that opinion around Thor).

Steve shrugged. "I made a deal with Frigga— Thor's mom— her invaluable assistance for reuniting her sons."

"I gotta say for being one of the bad guys he was a lot of help when things got dicey." Natasha offered, hugging Sam murmuring. "I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again."

He smiled giving her a kiss on the side of the head. "You almost didn't."

Loki, for being the subject of the conversation, stood on the fringes of the group, putting as much space as possible between him and the now bespectacled Hulk. He gritted his teeth, gripping a knife tightly behind his back. "As heartfelt and touching as this reunion really is I've fulfilled my end of the bargain, Rogers. Where is Thor?"

Natasha snorted. "Wherever the nearest liquor store or McDonald's is."

At the same time Sam mumbled, "Probably face down in a pizza somewhere."

Bruce looked disappointed in their remarks. "C'mon guys, Thor's just having a hard time right now. Not all of his people came back. We should be more understanding."

The two looked away, looking appropriately chastened.

"Thor's been spending a lot of his time out on that hill." Bruce answered, pointing to a large grassy hill over looking the river, far away from the hustle and bustle of the Avenger's compound. "He says it reminds him of home."

Loki nodded and without another word turned toward the hill purposely walking towards it.

They watched him for a moment, before Bruce hugged Nat and Vision again. "I'm just so glad you two are back!"

Steve grinned and turned his attention to his Bucky swinging an arm around the man's neck. "You miss me, Buck?"

Bucky rolled his eyes. Only one hundred percent, but he wasn't ready to admit that just yet. He scoffed. "You were gone like ten seconds."

Steve nodded, the grin never leaving his face. "You know, I gave it a lot of thought in those ten seconds, and I think it's time to get some of that life Tony was talking about."

Bucky's eyebrows shot up, not sure where Steve was going with this.

"I was wondering, there's a planetarium not far from here, they've got a pretty neat telescope. Maybe we can find Vormir and I'll tell you how I kicked Red Skull's ass again."

Bucky's eyes widen, his tongue caught in his throat, as he sits silent for a long moment. He can tell it's maybe a second too long as Steve's smile begins to fade. Natasha slaps his arm and suddenly he has the ability to speak again. "I'd, uh, really like that, Stevie."  
  
Impossibly, Steve's entire face brightens. "Great! No time like the present, they serve hotdogs too, and I am starving."

His arm slides away from Bucky and the assassin tries not to mourn its presence. He turns back to Sam handing him the shield he got from God knows when.

"Hold onto this for me, will you Sam?"

Sam takes it without thinking, sputtering as he grasps the other man's meaning. "What? You can't— I'm not—"

"I can, and you're the only one I trust with the job." He leans in and nearly whispers, "This is fate, Sam. Destiny."

Sam stares down at the shield in his hands in awe. "I'll do you proud, Steve." He answers, tears pricking at his eyes.

Steve clamped a hand onto Sam's shoulder. "I already am, Sam. I already am." With a final squeeze of the shoulder, Steve nods and retracts his hand, turning back to Bucky.

He slid his arm over the other man's shoulder and as he started to lead the pair away he could be heard asking, "You still remember how to Charleston, Buck?"

Bucky's answer was lost to the wind, only a rare laugh from the man could be heard as his own arm snakes around Steve's waist as they walk off together.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbK5qULCeEk this is the song to play as they walk away and the screen fades to black.
> 
> I tried really hard to keep Steve and Bucky's relationship platonic/neutral but... I think I failed? Men platonically ask other men to go look at the stars and then dancing, right? Just a bunch of guys being dudes. IDEK.
> 
> I didn't give Vision any lines, because I don't care about him. Wanda's cool though, she deserves to happy, so he's back.
> 
> Italicized quote is from the CA:WS (I'm pretty sure? Eh, It's one of them.)

**Author's Note:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbK5qULCeEk this is the song to play as they walk away and the screen fades to black.
> 
> I tried really hard to keep Steve and Bucky's relationship platonic/neutral but... I think I failed? Men platonically ask other men to go look at the stars and then dancing, right? Just a bunch of guys being dudes. IDEK.
> 
> I didn't give Vision any lines, because I don't care about him. Wanda's cool though, she deserves to happy, so he's back.
> 
> Italicized quote is from the CA:WS (I'm pretty sure? Eh, It's one of them.)


End file.
